“Up From the Rubble”
“The epic rescue of thousands of war-ravaged Mennonite refugees”
Due to a desire to go back to my spiritual roots, I decided to spend free time this summer reading books about Anabaptists. So far I’ve only read one. I stumbled across it unintentionally and am glad I did because I hadn’t come across it in my online searches (which have been few) for books related to Anabaptists and Mennonites. Months ago, I had mentioned this summer reading goal to a YAR friend of mine, and he asked if I would write reviews on whichever books I read. This review is more of a summary and reflection, a smattering of thoughts I had while reading. Let me say, first of all, that I recommend it. It is a very poignant story of a group of people trusting God’s faithfulness and provision despite heartache, persecution, hunger, fatigue and seeming hopelessness.
Some of you may be familiar with Up From the Rubble, written by Peter and Elfrieda Dyck. I had never heard of the book nor the story it tells. My Mennonite lineage is Swiss-German whereas the Mennonites in this story are from Russia. I don’t know anyone (or anyone’s grandparent) personally who went through this, but I felt a connection due to being a Mennonite, and that connection served to make the story seem all the more real as I read and digested it. (more…)